SP won’t win more than 4 seats in LS polls: Beni

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Firing a fresh salvo at the Samajwadi Party, Union minister Beni Prasad Verma has said that Mulayam Singh Yadav’s party will win only four seats in the Lok Sabha polls and there will be a “funeral procession for the party. Beni, who recently triggered a storm by stating that Yadav allegedly has “terrorist links”, said “the Congress will fight all the 80 Lok Sabha seats in UP and will win 40. “We will not let the BJP win more than 10 seats. Behenji (Mayawati) will win 36. And of whom you are talking about (SP) will win four seats and there will be a funeral procession for that party,” the Congress leader told reporters here.

He was replying to questions on the prospects of various parties in the UP in the next Lok Sabha polls. The Union steel minister’s remarks come at a time when Yadav has been breathing fire against the government. Verma had recently angered the SP chief by his comments against him. Yadav had then demanded his resignation during meetings with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress chief Sonia Gandhi following which Verma had expressed regret.

However, after a brief lull, Verma had on March 23 launched another tirade against the Samajwadi Party chief, saying those “serving family interest” cannot be termed as socialists. Yadav had yesterday said he had no plans now to withdraw support to the UPA.

“Right now withdrawing support has not been discussed in the party. Now there is no question of the SP withdrawing support to the UPA government,” he said yesterday.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had on Thursday acknowledged the possibility of the SP’s withdrawal of support to the UPA.

The Samjawadi Party with 22 MPs is providing crucial outside support to the government.